Top American TV and film streaming site will launch in UK and Ireland early
next year

Netflix, America’s leading online film and TV subscription service, has announced it will launch in the UK “in early 2012”.

The site claims it will offer “unlimited TV shows and films streaming instantly” to TVs and computers, but has not yet released what its launch price will be.

The news comes days after Google announced a movie rental service for UK Android users, and Sony announced the launch of its Entertainment Network, offering streaming and downloading services.

In the UK, services such as Lovefilm have dominated film rental, initially using DVDs and increasingly focusing on online, while other platforms such as Sky, BT Vision and Virgin Media have focused on providing on-demand content to deter people from using the web. Apple's iTunes is also a major player and analysts suggested the launch of Netflix, however, could provoke a new price war.

Simon Woodward, of digital TV specialist ANT, claimed "2012 signifies a tipping point for the connected TV market. Manufacturers and retailers have been talking about the connected TV experience for some time, but in reality, the benefits are yet to be realised by the majority of consumers. 2012 is the year where this is set to change – and we’re expecting a host of services like this one to be launched in the coming twelve months as the market responds to growing consumer demand."